GB2426350A - Integral coil probe and method of transmitting signal. - Google Patents

Integral coil probe and method of transmitting signal. Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2426350A
GB2426350A GB0509949A GB0509949A GB2426350A GB 2426350 A GB2426350 A GB 2426350A GB 0509949 A GB0509949 A GB 0509949A GB 0509949 A GB0509949 A GB 0509949A GB 2426350 A GB2426350 A GB 2426350A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
spring
probe
intermediate portion
signal transmission
coils
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB0509949A
Other versions
GB0509949D0 (en
Inventor
Wan-Chuan Chou
Wei-Fang Fan
Jung-Tsan Liu
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to GB0509949A priority Critical patent/GB2426350A/en
Publication of GB0509949D0 publication Critical patent/GB0509949D0/en
Publication of GB2426350A publication Critical patent/GB2426350A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
    • G01R1/02—General constructional details
    • G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
    • G01R1/067—Measuring probes
    • G01R1/06711—Probe needles; Cantilever beams; "Bump" contacts; Replaceable probe pins
    • G01R1/06716—Elastic
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/02—Contact members
    • H01R13/22—Contacts for co-operating by abutting
    • H01R13/24—Contacts for co-operating by abutting resilient; resiliently-mounted
    • H01R13/2407—Contacts for co-operating by abutting resilient; resiliently-mounted characterized by the resilient means
    • H01R13/2421—Contacts for co-operating by abutting resilient; resiliently-mounted characterized by the resilient means using coil springs
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
    • G01R1/02—General constructional details
    • G01R1/04—Housings; Supporting members; Arrangements of terminals
    • G01R1/0408—Test fixtures or contact fields; Connectors or connecting adaptors; Test clips; Test sockets
    • G01R1/0433—Sockets for IC's or transistors
    • G01R1/0441—Details
    • G01R1/0466—Details concerning contact pieces or mechanical details, e.g. hinges or cams; Shielding
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
    • G01R1/02—General constructional details
    • G01R1/04—Housings; Supporting members; Arrangements of terminals
    • G01R1/0408—Test fixtures or contact fields; Connectors or connecting adaptors; Test clips; Test sockets
    • G01R1/0433—Sockets for IC's or transistors
    • G01R1/0483—Sockets for un-leaded IC's having matrix type contact fields, e.g. BGA or PGA devices; Sockets for unpackaged, naked chips
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R4/00—Electrically-conductive connections between two or more conductive members in direct contact, i.e. touching one another; Means for effecting or maintaining such contact; Electrically-conductive connections having two or more spaced connecting locations for conductors and using contact members penetrating insulation
    • H01R4/02—Soldered or welded connections
    • H01R4/023—Soldered or welded connections between cables or wires and terminals
    • H01R4/024—Soldered or welded connections between cables or wires and terminals comprising preapplied solder

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Measuring Leads Or Probes (AREA)

Abstract

An integral probe is formed of an elongate electrical conductive coil spring including an intermediate portion and two end portions either connected to a signal transmission starting terminal or a signal transmission ending terminal. The number of the coils of the spring in a predetermined portion thereof such as a narrow portion, is larger than that of the remaining portions. A signal transmission method comprises compressing the spring and passing a signal through the spring in a pathway axially along the length of the coil. The invention can cause signal to pass quickly with decreased resistance and substantially no inductance.

Description

* 2426350
INTEGRAL PROBE AND METHOD
OF TRANSMITTING SIGNAL THERETHROUGH
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of Invention
The present invention relates to probes and more particularly to an integral probe and a method of transmitting signal therethrough with improved characteristics.
Related Art Probes are well-known devices for testing a printed circuit board (PCB), wafer, IC (integrated circuit) encapsulation, communication product, LCD (liquid crystal display), or the like. Probes are characterized by high conductivity and low resistance. Thus, many newly developed electronic devices (e.g., cellular phones) having probes as requisite components.
A conventional probe of low resistance (Prior Art I) is shown in FIG. 1. The probe comprises a sleeve 91 having a narrow top opening, a cup-shaped seat 94 fitted within a lower portion of the sleeve 91, a spring 93 in an internal space 911 of the sleeve 91, the spring 93 having a lower end anchored in the seat 94, and a projection 92 having a bottom cavity with an upper portion of the spring 93 anchored therein such that the projection 92 is urged upward by the spring 93 to project from the top opening of the sleeve 91 until an enlarged lower portion of the projection 92 is stopped by the narrow top opening of the sleeve 91. Moreover, the bottoms of the sleeve 91 and the seat 94 are secured together and the seat 94 is secured to an underlying member by soldering The seat 94 is plated with tin and each of the sleeve 91, the spring 93, and the projection 92 is plated with precious metal. Prior Art I is configured to have low resistance. However, the number of its components is excessive. Also, its assembly is time consuming and may require high precision in the manufacturing process Furthermore, its inductance is adversely large Another conventional probe for testing applications (Prior Art II) is shown in FIG 2 The probe comprises a sleeve 81 having a narrow top opening and a blind bottom end, a spring 83 in an internal space of the sleeve 81, the spring 83 having a lower end rested on bottom of the sleeve 81, and a projection 82 having a bottom urged by the spring 83 such that the projection 82 is adapted to project from the top opening of the sleeve 81 until an enlarged lower portion of the projection 82 is stopped by the narrow top opening of the sleeve 81. Prior Art II has less components and less space as compared with Prior Art I. However, its manufacturing, assembly, and plating are still costly to implement.
Moreover, resistance of the probe is relatively high when signal is transmitting.
Further, its inductance is still adversely large.
As shown in FIG. 3, signal may travel through the spring 83 (or 93) for transmitting during test. In fact, signal travels through the helical length of the spring 83 as indicated by arrows. It is known that resistance is proportional to length of a signal transmission path. That is, the resistance is adversely large Also, signal quality is poor due to large inductance. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to, in a probe formed of an elongate coil spring including an intermediate portion and two end portions either connected to a signal transmission starting terminal or a signal transmission ending terminal, provide a signal transmission method comprising compressing the spring and passing a signal through the spring By utilizing the method, signal can pass the compressed probe quickly with decreased resistance and substantially no inductance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a probe formed of an elongate coil spring comprising an intermediate portion and two end portions either connected to a signal transmission starting terminal or a signal transmission ending terminal wherein the number of the coils of the spring in a predetermined portion thereof is larger than that of the remaining portions The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional probe; FIG. 2 is a sectional view of another conventional probe; FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the spring shown in FIG. 1 or 2 for illustrating signal transmission thereth rough; FIG. 4 is a side view of a first preferred embodiment of probe according to the invention; FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 where the probe is elastically compressed; FIG. 6 is a side view of a second preferred embodiment of probe according to the invention; FIG. 7 is a side view of a third preferred embodiment of probe according to the invention; FIG. 8 is a side view schematically showing probes of the first preferred embodiment of the invention mounted in a device for wafer test; FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the probe of the first preferred embodiment of the invention for illustrating signal transmission therethrough; FIG. 10 is a side view of a fourth preferred embodiment of probe according to the invention; FIG. 11 is a side view of a fifth preferred embodiment of probe according to the invention; FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 where the probe is elastically corn pressed; FIG 13 is a side view of a sixth preferred embodiment of probe according to the invention; and FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG 13 where the probe is elastically corn pressed
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIGS 4, 5, and 8, there is shown an integral probe constructed in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention The probe is formed of elongate metal spring 10 comprising an enlarged intermediate portion 12, two end portions 11 and 11', and two funnel-shaped connecting portions 111 either connected between the intermediate portion 12 and the end portion 11 (or 11'). The number of coils of the intermediate portion 12 is less than that of either end portion 11 or 11'. Also, the number of coils of the probe can be increased or decreased depending on applications In an application as shown in FIG. 8, two probes each is interconnected a substrate 21 and a solder balI 22 on an IC board. Signal is transmitted from the substrate 21 to the solder baIl 22 through either probe. Referring to FIG. 9, signal can pass the compressed probe quickly with decreased resistance and substantially no inductance as compared with prior art. Moreover, a buffering effect to the substrate 21 and the solder balls by the probes occurs due to elasticity of the probe. Such is particularly important for preventing properties of the solder balls 22 from degrading because test is always conducted in a high temperature environment.
Referring to FIGS. 6, 7, and 10 to 14, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth preferred embodiments of probe according to the invention are shown. In FIG. 6 (second preferred embodiment), the probe comprises an enlarged intermediate portion 12, two end portions 11 and 11', and two funnelshaped connecting portions 111 either connected between the intermediate portion 12 and the end portion 11 (or 11') The coils of the probe are formed uniformly In FIG. 7 (third preferred embodiment), the probe comprises a narrow intermeaiate portion 13, two end portions 11, and two transitional portions 12 either connected between the intermediate portion 13 and the end portion 11 The number of coils of either transitional portion 12 is less than that of the intermediate portion 13 or that of either end portion 11 In FIG. 10 (fourth preferred embodiment), the probe comprises a narrow intermediate portion 13, two enlarged transitional portions 12, two narrow end portions 11 and 11', and two funnel-shaped connecting portions 111 either connected between the intermediate portion 12 and the end portion 11 (or 11').
The coils of the probe are formed uniformly.
In FIG. 11 (fifth preferred embodiment), the probe comprises a narrow intermediate portion 13, two end portions 11 and 11', two transitional portions 12 either connected between the intermediate portion 13 and a funnel-shaped connecting portions 111 of the end portion 11 (or 11'). The number of coils of either transitional portion 12 is less than that of each remaining component of the probe. As such, a uniform probe can be formed by compressing as shown in FIG. 12.
In FIG. 13 (sixth preferred embodiment), the probe comprises two end portions 11 and 11' and a plurality of enlarged portions 12 in which each of first and last enlarged portions 12 having one end (or the other end) connected to a funnel-shaped connecting portions 111 of the end portion 11 (or 11'). Also, a narrow portion 13 is interconnected two adjacent enlarged portions 12. The number of coils of each enlarged portion 12 is less than that of each remaining component of the probe. As such, a uniform probe can be formed by ) compressing as shown in FIG. 14.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.
All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.
Each feature disclosed in this specification
(including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s) . The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features
disclosed in this specification (including any
accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims (10)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS
1. In a probe formed of an elongate coil spring including an intermediate portion and two end portions either connected to a signal transmission starting terminal or a signal transmission ending terminal, a signal transmission method S comprising compressing the spring and passing a signal through the spring.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of the coils of the spring in a predetermined portion thereof is larger than that of the remaining portions.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the intermediate portion is enlarged and either end portion comprises a funnel-shaped connecting portion connected to the intermediate portion.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the number of the coils of the spring in either end portion is larger than that of the intermediate portion.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the intermediate portion comprises a plurality of first sections, and further comprising a plurality of narrow second sections each interconnected two adjacent sections.
6 The method of claim 5, wherein the number of the coils of the spring in one or more predetermined sections thereof is larger than that of the remaining sections.
7 A probe formed of an elongate coil spring comprising an intermediate portion and two end portions either connected to a signal transmission starting terminal or a signal transmission ending terminal wherein the number of the coils of the spring in a predetermined portion thereof is larger than that of the remaining portions.
8. The probe of claim 7, wherein the intermediate portion is enlarged and either end portion comprises a funnel-shaped connecting portion connected to the intermediate portion.
9. The probe of claim 8, wherein the number of the coils of the spring in either end portion is larger than that of the intermediate portion.
10. The probe of claim 7, wherein the intermediate portion comprises a plurality of first sections, and further comprising a plurality of narrow second sections each interconnected two adjacent sections.
11 The probe of claim 10, wherein the number of the coils of the spring in one or more predetermined sections thereof is larger than that of the remaining sections
GB0509949A 2005-05-17 2005-05-17 Integral coil probe and method of transmitting signal. Withdrawn GB2426350A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0509949A GB2426350A (en) 2005-05-17 2005-05-17 Integral coil probe and method of transmitting signal.

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0509949A GB2426350A (en) 2005-05-17 2005-05-17 Integral coil probe and method of transmitting signal.

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB0509949D0 GB0509949D0 (en) 2005-06-22
GB2426350A true GB2426350A (en) 2006-11-22

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB0509949A Withdrawn GB2426350A (en) 2005-05-17 2005-05-17 Integral coil probe and method of transmitting signal.

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GB (1) GB2426350A (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
SG147327A1 (en) * 2007-04-16 2008-11-28 Chou Wan Chuan Integral probe and method of transmitting signal therethrough

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6043666A (en) * 1996-06-28 2000-03-28 Nhk Spring Co., Ltd. Electroconductive spring contact unit
EP1096613A2 (en) * 1999-10-29 2001-05-02 Aries Electronics, Inc Solderless grid array connector
US20040147140A1 (en) * 2003-01-24 2004-07-29 Zhineng Fan Low inductance electrical contacts and lga connector system
US20040257099A1 (en) * 2001-07-20 2004-12-23 Toshio Kazama Conductive coil contact member

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6043666A (en) * 1996-06-28 2000-03-28 Nhk Spring Co., Ltd. Electroconductive spring contact unit
EP1096613A2 (en) * 1999-10-29 2001-05-02 Aries Electronics, Inc Solderless grid array connector
US20040257099A1 (en) * 2001-07-20 2004-12-23 Toshio Kazama Conductive coil contact member
US20040147140A1 (en) * 2003-01-24 2004-07-29 Zhineng Fan Low inductance electrical contacts and lga connector system

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
SG147327A1 (en) * 2007-04-16 2008-11-28 Chou Wan Chuan Integral probe and method of transmitting signal therethrough

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB0509949D0 (en) 2005-06-22

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Legal Events

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WAP Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1)